A new report has found that Lidl currently sells 44% of all Fairtrade certified bananas sold in Ireland.
Research by Fairtrade Ireland found that 25% of the bananas sold by Lidl Ireland are Fairtrade certified, however Irish retailers excluding Lidl sell on average just 5% of their bananas as Fairtrade certified.
While Irish awareness of Fairtrade is very high (82%), the report said that just 7.7% of bananas sold in Ireland are Fairtrade. In the UK the corresponding figure is 30%, while in Switzerland 50% of bananas are Fairtrade certified.
Commenting on the findings, Executive Director of Fairtrade Ireland Peter Gaynor said, “The companies with the greatest power to harness our spending power to help lift people out of poverty are the retailers – and in Ireland they seem either blissfully unaware or indifferent to both the opportunity and responsibility to do so."
Irish consumer spend on Fairtrade products increased by 15% from €174 million in 2012 to €200 million in 2013.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
